The Legal Regime in Uganda’s Petroleum Industry:

Abstract

The study aimed to analyze and assess the efficacy of the laws, on risk management, that have been adopted to ensure fire safety in Uganda’s Oil and Gas/ petroleum industry. The study had five objectives: to identify the possible causes of fire accidents in Uganda’s petroleum industry; to ascertain the legal framework for prevention and control of fire hazards; to analyze the efficacy of the law in preventing and controlling fire hazards; to identify challenges in the implementation of the law; and to make recommendations that can be helpful to the stakeholders in ensuring fire safety.

The study used a qualitative research design. Data was collected using interviews and during the data collection, purposive sampling was used which helped to achieve better results.

Results show that fire and explosions are the major accidents in the petroleum industry. They are a result of combustible gasses reacting with air mostly during the process of drilling. These are usually caused by negligent or improperly trained workers. However, there is a regulatory framework that has been put in place to control fire hazards which is ideal but has not been effective in ensuring fire safety due to lack of proper implementation and enforcement. There is a need for the law makers and other stakeholders in the industry to sensitize workers about their rights and duties, the safety and health laws adopted for protection against fire accidents during oil and gas operations. It is essential for the law makers and enforcers to effectively implement the laws on occupational safety and health hazards, by holding those found in breach of the law accountable.